Airlines. Orville Wright taking off on his firs t flight, Kitty Hawk, North C arolina 1903

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1 Airlines Orville Wright taking off on his firs t flight, Kitty Hawk, North C arolina 1903 Orville Wright s first flight in 1903 lasted just 12 seconds. The new and improved plane that he and his brother Wilbur flew five years later stayed in the air for over an hour. In the next fifty years, aircraft continued to evolve. Construction materials changed from mostly wood and canvas to a more sturdy aluminum. Technological advancements made it possible to fly higher, faster and farther. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard

2 The B enoist flying boat flew regularly between S t. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida in 1914 In 1914, Thomas Benoist launched what is considered the first air service in the U.S. Tampa, Florida, and nearby St. Petersburg were separated by Tampa Bay. Travel between the two communities was limited to oncea-day boat or train. The air service drew business throughout the winter. When the tourist season ended, however, the airline was shut down. No one else tried to carry passengers by air for several years. Why should they when the railroads offered fast, convenient service with downtown terminals? Photo: Ralph Cooper

3 The first air mail stamp, 1918 Arriving in Cleveland, Ohio from Chicago, Illinois on an early run of the nation's air mail service, 1919 The federal government would play a key role in reversing this scenario. In 1916, the Post Office Department convinced Congress to let it use $50,000 for airmail experiments that would speed delivery of the mail. The following year the U.S. entered World War I and government interest heightened for expanding the nation s small aviation manufacturing industry. Before the conflict was over, Congress gave the Post Office $100,000 to establish airmail routes. Photo: Collection of Lester Bishop Stamp: Smithsonian Institution

4 Group portrait of air mail pilots from the 1920s New plane developed for air mail service, 1923 During the first three months of operation, the Post Office used Army pilots and planes, the War Department thought it would be good experience for student pilots. The Post Office then hired civilian pilots and purchased its own special-built mail planes. Early mail planes had no instruments, radios, or other navigational aids. Forced landings occurred frequently because of bad weather, but fatalities were rare, largely because of the small size, maneuverability, and slow landing speed of the planes. Photos: 1) Library of Congress and 2) Collection of Lester Bishop

5 Night operations Since planes of the time were not much faster than mail trains, aviators believed their best hope for competing with the railroads was to offer cross-country service. Flying at night, three pilots carried mail from San Francisco to New York on a trial flight in February In 1923, the postmaster began installing powerful beacon lights to mark air routes for routine night flying in clear weather. Scheduled transcontinental airmail service started the next year. Photo: Smithsonian Institution

6 Contract airmail pilots and planes outside the Elko, Nevada hanger. Elko was one of the first cities served by contract airmail. The Post Office began contracting with private airlines to transport mail over assigned routes in With this government subsidy, the nation s struggling air carriers now had the hope of a steady income. Regional airlines began offering regularly scheduled passenger flights creating a mishmash of local air routes. Photo: Smithsonian Institution

7 New invention for dropping airmail sacks to earth from s peeding plane, circa s When the Post Office changed its contracts to favor a few strong carriers that could serve the entire nation, four airlines emerged. Eastern Airlines became a major north-south carrier while TWA, American and United provided coast-to-coast service. These airlines would continue to dominate the nation s air routes for the next half century. Photo: Library of Congress

8 A crash on the Glen Martin field, Cleveland, Ohio in 1921 Several factors were converging to encourage improvements in air travel. As with previous developments in transport, geography was a key factor. Most planes in the late 1920s could fly at altitudes over 3,000 feet but the Rocky Mountains had 8,000 to 10,000 foot passes. Planes could fly over the Appalachians but poor flying conditions at the lower altitudes resulted in frequent crashes. Photo: Collection of Lester Bishop

9 Loading Mail Another factor was money. The Post Office initially paid airlines for service based on the weight of mail carried. Later, the policy changed and payment was determined by the space reserved for the mail, this reduction in payment motivated airlines to build larger planes that could carry passengers as well as mail to turn a profit. Photo: Smithsonian Institution

10 A mail truck sits next to a Ford Trimotor ready to lead the plane with mail Interior of Ford Trimotor with "club" type cabin furnishings An early entrant into the production of airplanes was the Ford Motor Company. The Ford Trimotor was one of the first all-metal planes and the first plane specifically created to carry up to 12 passengers. The plane had three engines which allowed it to fly higher and faster than other planes of the time, reaching speeds of up to 130 miles per hour. By 1933, however, several competitors were building faster and better planes. Henry Ford got out of the aviation business until World War II. Photos: 1) Library of Congress and 2) Smithsonian Institution

11 B oeing 247 DC-3 One of the best new planes was the twin-engine Boeing 247 of It had a streamlined and modern look, very different from the boxy biplanes of just a few years earlier. So many 247s were ordered that Boeing had to turn down a request from TWA for more. The airline turned to a smaller builder, the Douglas Aircraft Company and asked for a similar plane on trial. The DC-3 that was produced is considered the most significant commercial plane ever built. Capable of flying nonstop from New York to Chicago, the DC-3 had a passenger capacity of 28, nearly triple that of the Boeing 247. The DC-3 showed that flying could be safe, comfortable, reliable, and affordable. It was the first airplane that could make a profit just by hauling passengers without relying on government subsidies. It quickly drove competing planes from the airways, and went on to dominate American aviation. By 1939, more than 90 percent of the nation's airline passengers were flying on DC-2s and DC-3s. Photos: Boeing Archives and 1953 California Air College

12 B oeing 307 The push for larger planes that could carry more passengers at higher altitudes, faster speeds and longer distances continued. In 1938, the Boeing 307 Stratoliner became the world's first high-altitude commercial transport. Its pressurized cabin allowed it to fly at an altitude of 26,200 feet above most bad weather. At a higher altitude, there is also less air resistance to forward movement making it possible to fly faster with the same power. It could carry 5 crew members and 33 passengers. Photo: Boeing Archives Illustration: Smithsonian Institution

13 Model 314 Clipper flying boat The Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans were another problem tackled during the 1930s. Multiple engines were the only way to get the power required to lift the large loads of fuel needed for these long journeys. Add to this another obstacle, a plane with all of this weight could not lift off the ground on existing landing strips. Juan Trippe, a young airline operator, came up with a solution -- a plane that could take off and land on water. Trippe operated Pan American Airways with a 9-mile route from Florida to Cuba. He asked manufacturers to build new planes for Pan Am that could fly much farther. Several companies began producing four-engine seaplanes with the potential for making trips of more than 5,000 miles, more than double the distance of land-based planes at the time. In 1936, Trippe introduced his Clipper flying boats on a route that crossed the Pacific, reaching from San Francisco to the Philippines. They traveled long distances by making refueling stops at island, river, lake or coastal stations along the way. Passenger capacity went as high as 74 people. Photo: Boeing Archives

14 Air Routes, 1927 Air Routes, 1939 Look at how flying changed in just 12 years!

15 B oeing 707 During World War II, Boeing introduced new jet airplanes to be used as high-speed bomber planes. When airline executives considered the faster jets for commercial use, they dismissed them as fuel guzzlers that would drive up operating costs and limit the distance traveled. Juan Trippe thought differently. Promising a lot of orders, Trippe challenged Boeing and Douglas Aircraft to build a long-range jetliner. Boeing responded with the 707, which Pan Am put into service in The Douglas DC-8 went into commercial service the following year. Competing airlines began ordering the jets fearing Pan Am would take away their passengers. The jet airliner offered more than an advance in speed. It revolutionized the cost and comfort of flying. Lower maintenance costs meant lower fares. Flights above most turbulence attracted passengers previously wary of flying. Two years after the introduction of the 707, air travel accounted for 42 percent of U.S. commercial passenger travel. Photo: Boeing Archives

16 A comparison of the B oeing 707 to the 747 Almost immediately, Pan Am asked Boeing for an even larger plane. The result was the Boeing 747, which was first flown commercially in Often referred to as the Jumbo Jet, the 747 can accommodate as many as 524 passengers but most are fitted for about 400 passengers leaving substantial space for baggage, mail and freight. The model produced today can fly non-stop from New York to Hong Kong, a third of the way around the world. Photo: Boeing Archives

17 By the 1970s, travel by train and ocean liner had been in decline for nearly two decades. Only one ocean liner remained to provide transatlantic service for those who favored the slower style of travel. Passengers willing and able to purchase a $9,000 ticket also had the option of flying a supersonic Concorde plane which made the transatlantic trip in under four hours, half the time required by the 747.

18 Significant Passenger Planes Plane Date Top Speed Altitude Ceiling Range (Miles) Maximum Passengers Ford Trimotor , Boeing , Douglas DC , Boeing Model 314 (Clipper Flying Boat) Lockheed L-649 (Constellation) , , DC , Boeing 707 (Jet) , Boeing 747 (Jumbo Jet) , Concorde , Airbus 380 Jet) (Super Jumbo , A irplanes have changed dramatically in terms of speed, range and pass enger capacity. By 1969, passengers willing and able to purchase a $9,000 ticket also had the option of flying a supersonic Concorde plane which made the transatlantic trip in under four hours, half the time required by the 747. The airplane was rapidly replacing trains and ocean liners. The arrival of the 1970s marked a nearly two-decade decline in travel by rail and ship. Only one ocean liner remained to provide transatlantic service for those who favored a slower style of travel.

19 This map shows just some of the air travel options within the U.S. today! It is also possible to fly to almost any place in the world.